Linux is great to use at home. It can be handy at work. It's a great server operating system. But there's one other place that Linux is really worth its weight in gold: public, or semi-public, computers. There's nothing quite as nerve-wracking as seeing someone on a computer you're responsible for, and wondering what exactly they're up to.

As a former course designer and academic, I used to be experienced in talking in front of people. However, one thing I hadn't done until now is appear on television. That, more than anything, is why I agreed to appear on the computer show Lab with Leo Laporte in a five-minute spot about the GNU/Linux desktop.

"The Linux filesystem is a complex and the first thing that most new users shifting from Windows will find confusing is navigating the Linux filesystem. The second thing is that not too many people are familiar with how the filesystem works or know how to troubleshoot if any problems arise."

The “What’s the difference between UNIX and Linux?” question can be answered similar to the analogy section that many of us had to complete on the SAT test: UNIX is to DOS as Linux is to Windows.

...as the week progressed, I kept wondering if this was actually a good thing. Did Linux really belong on the shelves of Wal-Mart now? Or was it too soon?

As a Linux evangelist, I find myself in an interesting quandary. There are many new netbooks being sold with Linux pre-installed, but often the way Linux is installed is not what I’m used to seeing. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I understand the reasoning for custom interfaces, but it has some disadvantages.

I presented some thoughts on “Linux” and “GNU/Linux” in a recent post What’s in a name? GNU, Linux, or GNU/Linux?, trying to make the case to use “Linux” in preference to “GNU/Linux.”

So what's new with Linux at CES this year? That's our question. If you have the answers, let's have 'em. Because we'll be there on a Linux Hunt, just like we are every year. The difference this time is that we'd like to make this a Team Thing.

As you may have noticed, Firefox 3 is released today. Excited by this prospect, the first thing I did when I got up was to rush to my computer to download it (yes, pathetic, I know). And what do I find?